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mysmashplaythroughs · 4 years

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Earthbound Playthrough

Fighter: Ness

Game: Earthbound, Wii U virtual console (SNES). First Released on August 27th 1994.

Fighter Bio.

A young boy living in Onett, a town in Eagleland, Ness is awoken one night following a meteorite crashing into a hilltop near his home. Ness and his neighbours eventually go to see the meteorite and it is there they meet Buzz Buzz, a small insect-like being who tells Ness that he is from 10 years in the future and has seen what will happen if he does not stop Giygas, an alien being. Buzz Buzz tells Ness that he is one of four destined to defeat Giygas and that they are the only ones who can. Following this Ness sets off on an adventure, meeting other members of the chosen four who help him to take on Giygas’s forces. Ness is a fairly strong physical fighter, with his weapons of choice being various baseball bats and sometimes Yo-yos. He also however has abilities he uses with PSI, although unlike his two other friends who also use PSI, his tend to be more focused on healing and lowering enemies defence and attack as well as raising those of his party.

Ness is once again a silent protagonist similar to many other Nintendo series protagonists and as such there isn’t much revealed of his personality. He seems to be a fan of baseball given his propensity to use bats as well as him wearing a Baseball Cap. Ness also has Steak as his favourite food which his Mother cooks for him when he visits home whilst on his adventure. Ness along with the other party members in the game can be named whatever the player wishes, however his default and therefore often considered ‘canon’ name is Ness. Similarly the player can choose his favourite food which by default is steak. Ness looks very similar to the player character of the first game in the series, Mother (localised many years later as Earthbound Beginnings) who’s default name is Ninten which was intentional as the creator Shigesato Itoi wished to allow the player to decide on whether they were the same character or not. For this blog and my own personal playthroughs, I will interpret them as separate characters, however there is no set canon regarding this.

Ness’s family consists of his Mother, Sister, Father and pet dog. Ness is close with his Mother, to the point that if he travels for too long without speaking to her he will get homesick, a condition that makes him sometimes miss turns in battle because he’s busy thinking of home and his favourite food. Homesickness is cured by either speaking to his Mother in person, or speaking to her over the phone. Ness’s Sister, Tracy can also be spoken to on the phone and during Earthbound she gets a job working for Excargo Express, a company that provides storage for items. By phoning his Sister, Ness can ask for someone from the company to be sent to him so he can give them items to store or to deliver items to him. Ness can also use this service when speaking to Tracy in person, with her giving and accepting items from Ness directly. Tracy and Ness’s Mother both can be found at Ness’s home in Onett, however his Father is constantly working and therefore never home. He can be called as well as call Ness on the phone however with him saving the game for the player when called and telling the party how much Exp they need to reach their next level. Ness’s Father will call Ness if the player has not saved for a long time in order to remind them to do so. Ness’s Father is never seen in person throughout the game, to the point that his representation in the credits role call is simply Ness’s home phone. The final member of Ness’s family is his dog King, who is the only non-playable character who can be named by the player, with King being the default. King is an optional party member at the start of the game who will reluctantly travel with the player to the meteor, helping out in battle with the occasional attack. When approaching the meteor however, he will get scared and run home. Following this King will remain at home for the rest of the game refusing to move.

Friends: On his journey, Ness meets with many characters, with the other three members of the chosen four being his closest companions, Paula, Jeff and Poo. Ness first meets Paula helping her escape from the Happy Happyism Cult who under the influence of Giygas have kidnapped her. Paula is much better at offensive PSI than Ness with his moves in Super Smash Bros actually mostly being ones Paula uses in Earthbound. Jeff, the only member of the group unable to use PSI is at a boarding school when he receives a psychic message from Paula asking him to help her and Ness who are trapped. Jeff sets off and eventually meets Ness and Paula when he arrives to help them escape from a dungeon. Finally, Poo is the prince of Dalaam who has trained for many years to strengthen his PSI. With his training complete Poo learns how to teleport and travels to meet the others knowing he is destined to fight alongside them. Poo later leaves the party for some time to learn a new attack, PSI Starstorm which is another attack Ness later uses in Super Smash Bros before returning to them after being successful.

There are many other characters Ness and his friends help during his journey and many who help them in return. Of those closest to Ness specifically, Buzz Buzz is a character only met by Ness and his neighbours Pokey and Picky Minch before he reaches his unfortunate end. The Runaway Five meet with Ness and his friends a couple of times through the game, and thanks to Ness helping them settle their debts they help out with their van and later on in a difficult battle. Apple Kid is an inventor who will provide Ness with inventions provided he funds his research. These inventions are vital to proceeding and later on Apple Kid assists in the final part of the game along with another important character, Dr. Andonuts. Dr. Andonuts is Jeff’s Father whom he has a strained relationship with, he provides Jeff and later his friends help with various inventions during the game. Finally of note is that when Ness visits Magicant he can gain temporary party members known as Flying Man. There are five of these who will join Ness when asked and when defeated will be lost for the rest of the game, with gravestones representing them outside of their home. The gravestones refer to the Flying Men as Ness’s Courage, although with each one the Tombstone’s become more and more vague until the last one chastises Ness and by extension the player for taking them for granted calling it “The Final Flying Man”.

Enemies/Rivals: Pokey Minch is Ness’s next-door Neighbour, known for being a bratty troublemaker, he doesn’t really have many friends only really having Ness to play with growing up as they’re neighbours. As the game goes on Pokey seems to get more and more corrupted by Giygas, although it is arguable that in fact Pokey’s true colours simply start to shine through once he manages to get Giygas’s power. Due to Ness’s status as a mostly silent protagonist and Pokey being quite erratic in his actions it’s debatable how much they are true enemies and how much Pokey has simply been twisted, with him often showing hints of still wishing to be friends with Ness, but showing it in twisted ways such as having to one-up him constantly. The rest of Pokey’s family aren’t on very good terms with Ness’s family, with Pokey’s Father constantly insisting Ness’s Father borrowed a large sum of money from him, although he then admits it might not have been as much as he said it is. He later assists Pokey in a scheme in the city of Fourside, however he ends up being more of a bit player and after Pokey’s plans in Fourside fail he leaves his Father washed up and wallowing in a bar. There are other characters Ness fights with some either testing him such as Captain Strong and others such as Frank being a gang leader who surrenders once Ness beats him.

Every other enemy pretty much is influenced by Ness’s true enemy Giygas, an invader from another world. Giygas was once a physical being, but eventually he gained such power he seemed to lose his physical form as well as his mind becoming bent purely on ending all existence. He still seems to be aware enough that when he learns during his invasion of earth 10 years in the future from the apple of enlightenment that Ness was destined to defeat him he goes back in time to defeat Ness knowing he could stop him, which shows he at least has enough thought to put a plan in motion. Beyond that, simply his presence is enough to cause all sorts of creatures and some people to seek to destroy Ness and his friends. Various agents of his such as the Starmen as well as objects such as the Mani Mani statue are his most direct forms of influence, with the Mani Mani statue managing to influence various figures such as the leader of the Happy Happy Cult into doing their will or just acting dangerously.

Crossovers with other Smash characters: Earthbound tends to fairly rarely actually make easter egg appearances or cameos in other games and as such Ness has had very little crossover with other characters outside of Super Smash Bros. One notable one is he makes a cameo in the sequel to his game, Mother 3 which stars Lucas, however I will detail that more in the post for Lucas. Beyond this, the only other real crossover for Ness is that Kirby has a power in Kirby Planet Robobot called ESP where he has a similar (although blue rather than red) baseball cap to Ness, and the description in-game mentions the powers being “just like a certain boy with PSI” being a clear reference to Ness. Ness himself does not appear however.

Why this game?

This is a very very simple one, it’s the only game Ness is in. There are other games in the Mother series, one of which stars a character who will have a post further down the line, however this is the only game in the Mother series that stars Ness, so it’s the obvious choice.

My past with this game.

So, my history with Earthbound is quite different to a lot of accounts I tend to read and that’s down to one big reason, Earthbound wasn’t released in Europe. Due to this, my first exposure to Earthbound, or rather Ness specifically was in Super Smash Bros on the N64. Back when I was in school, I remember another kid who would often make up the usual ‘rumours’ regarding games at the time, such as how to find Mew under the truck or how he had 50 Charizard cards at home, or how to get Luigi in Super Mario 64. One day, he told me about a secret character in Super Smash Bros. He said this character was a weird one as it was like Baby Mario. He told me I think how to unlock him and being naïve I gave it a shot, only this time it turned out to be somewhat real. I got this character with a red cap who was a kid, so I was completely confused as to who this was. I thought it must have been Kid Mario, an older Baby Mario for some reason. I forget now how long it was following this I started looking more into Ness and realising he wasn’t related to Mario but was from another game entirely with the most obvious sign being when I read his bio in-game. Although it was rather vague, it stated Ness had Psychic powers. At the time, my first time really hearing of Psychic powers was from Pokemon, so because of that I started associating Ness with Pokemon since he was somewhat similar to a typical Pokemon Trainer, with a cap and bag. Yeah, back then I’d muddle all sorts of different things into being connected in my head.

It was probably in Super Smash Bros Melee where I first started to learn a lot more about Ness, partially thanks to all the info contained in the various trophies, but also due to other factors such as being older and able to comprehend more, and the biggest factor, the internet. Super Smash Bros Melee was when I was able to first start looking for information on games from something other than Magazines. There were not many websites at the time I knew to look at however, Wikipedia wasn’t really that well known, at least to me back then and so most of the time I would learn information from fansites. Probably one of the biggest influences to me when it comes to a lot of my interest in Super Smash Bros was a site known as Detstar, which is only really viewable through the wayback machine now. It covered a lot of aspects of Melee, from the more basic things such as characters, moves, items and stages, to the parts that I had more interest in, “Cool Stuff” and “Misc”. “Cool Stuff” covered all sorts of things, from Trophies to Easter Eggs in the game whilst “Misc” is the more important section to this article. Under this section were various things, from the fake Sonic & Tails as well as the Toad Rumours, to Beta elements, and then a few things covering some of the more obscure games represented in Melee, Dr. Mario, Ice Climber and finally “Ness & Earthbound.” (No Fire Emblem however, which I’ll cover more in detail when I get to them.) This was probably where I first really learnt about Earthbound, seeing screenshots of the game as well as some information on the very basic plot outline. Needless to say, at the time, as someone who at most had played Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario and Pokemon when it came to RPGs, my imagination ran wild about this game. These few images looked so unique to other games I’d played then and there was so little info really looking back at it that I really wanted to know more, it helped that I was really into Pokemon at the time, regarding which the site itself said “So if you’re looking for someone or something to blame for Pokemon, blame Earthbound” (Sidenote: It’s funny how for a fair amount of time in my childhood, Pokemon was seen a lot in the same way Fortnite and FNAF tend to be, with a lot of ‘true gamers’ then seeing it as a plague on gaming. Detstar I don’t think really went that way so much, more he was just acknowledging it being a common view at the time, although I could be wrong.) So the appeal for the game was more there for me than it might have been earlier in my life. I would advise if anyone does want to look into the site, remember it’s an old internet fansite written by someone who I think pretty much dropped out of the gaming scene years ago, so it definitely has a lot of quirks typical of fansites at that time, just so you know what you’re getting into.

Next up for my exposure to Earthbound was another old internet site I spent a lot of time on back then (and another probably best not viewed by kids) Newgrounds. On there, there were a lot of parody videos, with a lot of my favourites being pixel animations. Naturally, there were plenty of Earthbound ones, with probably the one that sticks out most in my mind being one of the ever popular “outtakes/bloopers” videos, something practically every gaming franchise on there probably has had by this point. Still, with this outtake video I got a look at other scenarios that were in the game, although often pretty different to how they were in the actual game and without context for me, someone who hasn’t played the game, still it was probably another way I learnt more of the game and got to see the sprites in motion rather than just screenshots. Following this my memory is somewhat messy, Super Smash Bros Brawl was announced and I really started following online speculation at this time, learning of Mother 3 and most importantly getting a lot more info on the game. Youtube was starting to get popular providing me with a fair few videos of the game itself. Gradually, I came across Lets Plays watching a few of other games, and finally watching Chuggaaconroy’s Lets Play of Earthbound. It was through this I admittedly saw the game all the way through for the first time so yes, I never played it blind. Following this, I did get a chance to play the game, although not in a method I particularly liked and I was hoping that one day it would finally come to the Wii Virtual Console. In this playthrough, as with a lot of RPGs I’d tried at this point, I made it to a certain boss (the rematch with Master Belch) and got stuck, eventually just playing other games instead.

Now, before I get onto the final part of my history with the franchise, there is a fairly notable omission here when it comes to websites with information. Starmen.net is the biggest and most influential English language website when it comes to the Mother series to my knowledge. It is a fantastic resource and has a very devoted community who have been involved in covering a lot of the series for those outside of Japan, compiling a lot of information and very vocally campaigning for the series to see releases outside of Japan. Many people who are longtime Mother series fans tend to have links to the site such as the aforementioned Chuggaaconroy and as such I feel it is important I mention it. Whilst I did read a lot of things on the site, and for a time I remember religiously checking out the fanart on there, I’ll admit I didn’t personally get that involved with the site, however I feel it is too important to not mention. This links nicely into the final part really of my history with Earthbound, in 2013 after so long waiting it was finally announced that Earthbound would see a worldwide release on the Wii U Virtual Console, finally coming to Europe. Satoru Iwata stated this was down to the many requests on Miiverse I believe, however I’m sure that the vocal fanbases such as Starmen.net were a very big part of this too. Sadly, the same hasn’t happened for Mother 3 yet, we can only hope for that one day, but for me, I was glad I was finally getting to officially own Earthbound after so long. So, I excitedly started, played through and beat the game, right? No… I got stuck at a boss and started playing other games again. I know, I’m a failure of a gamer.

My Smash Playthrough.

When it comes to big games on my list, this really was probably the biggest game I knew I needed to beat. When it comes to replaying these games, and they’re ones where I specifically have started them multiple times, I like to where possible pick up my old save file and continue on rather than start from scratch again. With the long list I have with many RPGs and other long games, restarting every single one from scratch can admittedly hit my motivation somewhat. Earthbound is an amazing game and a lot of fun, however I wanted to finally get to new parts I hadn’t played before. Luckily, my save file actually had everything I wanted in my playthrough, as in the correct names for the characters and the items I wanted, so this was one of the easier games to simply continue from where I’d left off. The screenshot above is from a Miiverse post I made at the time, in it I said that I was finally “Further than I've got before.” I don’t necessarily remember most moments of my playthroughs now, but this one was very important to me. Super Metroid was a big game sure, but it was one I’d had easy access to really whenever I wanted. Earthbound however, this was a game I’d managed to have a lot of history with despite not being able to play it for the majority of my life, so to finally be at this moment, knowing I’d made it past where I was stuck and was going to beat the game was a huge deal to me. Honestly, thinking on it now, it might be one of my biggest gaming memories. Still, I don’t want to go too overboard here, needless to say though, I’m glad I was able to get that screenshot of seeing for myself in-game a moment I’d only seen in screenshots and other people’s playthroughs beforehand.

There were a fair few difficult spots for me following this however, areas where I found enemies tough and a few bosses gave me trouble. Earthbound definitely isn’t a hard game, but I’ve never been great at RPGs and this was at the start of my Smash Playthroughs, the idea of playing a Dragon Quest game for example would have been a pretty out there concept to me then. Areas that stand out in my mind include Stonehenge base, and an occurrence in an earlier area which takes place towards the end of the game involving very difficult enemies appearing there (which happens to be a point of no return I wasn’t prepared for, meaning a very important area was lost to me somewhat on this save file) Funnily enough, Master Belch’s rematch which had stopped me in my tracks both times I’d played before, was one of the boss fights I probably had the least trouble with, partially as I was aware of a trick with him, but even without that I’d managed to get to a level where he wasn’t really a problem, which was very satisfying. Many of the bosses could be challenging, but I don’t remember any of them being very large roadblocks to me, it helps that at this point I had gained somewhat more experience with RPGs and learnt a lot more about how Earthbound’s battle system worked than I had before, meaning I had more of an understanding of what I was doing.

The final boss is an experience I honestly don’t want to spoil. I know I’ve spoilt a lot here, but this final boss is one of the most notable in Nintendo and perhaps RPG history, one which I think it’s really best to experience yourself. I will however, spoil something unique in the ending of this game, so I guess skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to hear it. This game has an epilogue where essentially you can walk around the whole world of the game with all the enemies gone and practically every single NPC will have a new line of dialogue. All sorts of NPCs, even the most minor will somewhat conclude various small events from the game, really there’s far too many to mention, but every location is open to you to revisit at your own pace in order to see what’s changed now the world is saved. It’s something I don’t think many other games have really done, granted there are those with a post-game, but it’s a pretty unique experience overall and is just another reason this game is so beloved in my opinion. Of course, you’re entirely free to just go to the ending and ignore what anyone else has to say, it’s all up to you.

The music is great, with quite a variety of themes and some very psychedelic sounding songs, especially for the battles which matches up with the swirling backgrounds very well. The dialogue is easily one of the strongest points of the game, with almost every NPC being worth talking to as there’s often so many funny things to be heard, with many wacky scenarios such as a club where philosophical patrons gather to essentially stare at a rock and drink overpriced water. The setting of the game being in a modern world also helps it stand out from a lot of RPGs at the time. Returning to Dragon Quest which I mentioned earlier, I didn’t know back then but a lot of influence was drawn from that series when it comes to how the Mother series plays, with a menu being used to choose which options to do such as check what’s in front of you or talk to what’s in front of you. There is a button which will also do the job without having to bring up the menu however, which means Earthbound isn’t as closely linked to the style as its predecessor was, but it’s still there at any rate. Finally, and this is just a personal note, but I love a lot of the little features in the game that add to it’s charm, things like being able to order a pizza and the pizza being an item that can heal the whole party (since they share it) and being able to get a delivery guy to come out and take items from you to store them, or getting on the bus to travel from one town to the next. This is definitely a personal preference thing, but I still wanted to include it.

Overall, even today I would say Earthbound is a game worth checking out. Its uniqueness manages to let it remain an experience that still holds up and isn’t necessarily hampered by any huge aspects of gaming back then that would perhaps make me feel the need to warn about when recommending, with only a few minor things such as inventory management really sticking out in my mind. If you want any further evidence, Earthbound’s legacy really speaks for itself, with it’s influence definitely being present in a fair few notable series following it, probably the biggest of which being Pokemon (I believe having a crossover of some staff but I’m really not sure of specifics there) and a fair few games in the indie scene, most notably Undertale. Honestly, I keep thinking of pretty big aspects of the game that I haven’t even mentioned, like Mr. Saturns, but I feel at this point I’ve gone over most of what I really should, and Mr. Saturn will be mentioned again much further down the line.

Specific aspects about the game relating to Ness in Smash.

So, when it comes to Ness in Super Smash Bros, this is the first example on my list of something that’s really optional and just me going somewhat obsessively overboard really. Before I get onto that point however, regarding Ness’s attacks, as stated earlier, PK Fire, PK Thunder, PSI Magnet and PK Starstorm are not attacks Ness learns in the game, with them instead being used by either Paula or Poo. In Super Smash Bros Brawl I believe this is explained in a trophy as Ness being taught how to use these moves by Paula and Poo, but that’s really all that can be said regarding those attacks. PK Flash is the only PSI attack that Ness can use in the game but its function is somewhat different than in Super Smash Bros. It can cause various status effects on the enemy (depending on which version of it is used) such as causing them to cry (lowering their accuracy) feel strange, get paralysed or the most notable effect, being defeated instantly. This last effect is perhaps the closest to its use in Super Smash Bros, as it is a fairly difficult to pull off move but when it does connect can cause a lot of knockback making it pretty close to an instant KO providing some damage has been done to an opponent. The final of Ness’s PSI abilities is one that’s not really used in battle, but is part of his entrance in Super Smash Bros, being Teleport. In Earthbound, one form of Teleport requires Ness and his friends to run forwards gathering speed until they warp away, arriving at another location. If they collide with any solid objects whilst building speed, Ness and his friends will stop in their tracks and be completely covered in soot from the resulting energy backfire. In Super Smash Bros, Ness will arrive to a battle in a similar way to having just arrived in a new location through Teleport, however he will also briefly be covered in soot, similar to if he crashes into something whilst trying to build up speed.

Ness also fights with a baseball bat and a Yo-yo in Super Smash Bros. The baseball bat is not specifically based on any bat from Earthbound with the only notable thing about it being “Nett Sports” written on it. Ness’s Yo-yo similarly is not based on a specific one from the game with the main notable aspect of it being the word “Mother” on it when zoomed in close. Weapons are not physically seen in Earthbound, with battles being from a first person perspective. Similarly various clothes do not change characters appearances, with Ness always looking the same throughout the game barring specific events such as the start of the game where he wears Pyjamas. Where my obsessive methods come in are that in cases like this, I tend to like to try to work out what would be the closest equipment in my opinion to how it looks in the character’s portrayal in Super Smash Bros. So really, for this next part you can completely ignore this as it’s not anything concrete and purely my speculation. For the baseball bat I feel there are two candidates. The Ultimate Bat is the most straightforward, since what little artwork there is of the bats shows it as looking still like a fairly standard wooden baseball bat, similar to the one used in Smash. The only other candidate however, is the Tee ball bat, the reason being that this bat is sold in Onett, and the “Nett Sports” written on the bat would imply that specific bat has a connection to Onett. Still, I went with the Ultimate Bat mostly as the Tee Ball bat is the second weakest in the game. Of the Yo-yos, my first choice simply because Ness fights with it and it looks flashy was the Combat Yo-yo, the strongest yo-yo in the game. However, based on what little artwork there is, it seems this yo-yo actually has spikes on it, a feature not on the one in Smash, so therefore probably the other best choice would be the Trick yo-yo, again because it looks fairly flashy with the yellow lightning looking patterns in Smash. Finally, when it comes to equipment, probably the only real choice I felt for Ness is the Mr. Baseball Cap. This hat is a gift to Ness from a character in Onett, and the other choices such as the Holmes hat and Hard Hat definitely don’t fit the way Ness’s hat in artwork and Smash looks. There is a standard Baseball Cap available in the store in Onett, however the Mr. Baseball Cap still feels more fitting and specific to Ness overall in my opinion.

Credits.

For information on this game including dates of releases I must give credit to Wikibound Wiki.

The screenshots in this post are taken by me using Miiverse before it shut down.

#Ness #Earthbound #Mother 2 #Super Smash Bros #SNES #Wii U #Virtual Console #My Smash Playthrough #My Smash Playthroughs

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curiosusdea · 4 years

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Video Game Questionnaire

Tagged by @magicalcrusaderfruit

Rules: Fill in your answers and tag some friends!

<<GAMES>>

First game you ever played: Like first first would probably Super Mario World on the SNES. Being the youngest of 3 I only really got to play when one of my other sister would get tired of it since they’d tag team it as Mario and Luigi without me.

Favorite game: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines my dude. It’s the game that actually fully got me into gaming. Especially PC gaming. As a kid I for some reason thought PC gaming was a whole new horrible world since I grew up with consoles mostly. Bloodlines helped me realize I honestly prefer PC and that there’s a whole world out there of not co-op or multiplayer games (which I was restricted to growing up due to having siblings. We weren’t really allowed many non multiplayer or co-op games since that would leave people out and such).

Game you hated at first but now love: Arkham Knight. I was part of the group that went for the PC release and decided to power through the lag and terrible frames and just overall broken hell to finish it. It was a terrible experience but I needed it. After it got all fixed way later I actually came to really enjoy it.

Game you used to love but now hate: Knights of the Old Republic. Now, hear me out it’s a good game and all but I’ve just gotten kinda bored with it. Played it too many times I guess. Plus I’m actually not that huge of a Star Wars fan so there’s not a giant draw from a fandom level for me.

Game with the best group / companion(s): Dragon Age: Origins

A game with your favorite ending: Portal 2.

A game with the worst ending: Imma agree with Magical here and say Fallout 4. Just, why?

Best character customization: That’s not a hentai game? Skyrim. Unmodded it’s already pretty good when it comes to variety but mod that shit and it’s beauty.

<< HEROES AND COMPANIONS >>

Your favorite playable character: Zero from Borderlands. He’s a babe and I honestly just love Borderlands. Plus his skills are basically when I tend to go for in games so it makes for the perfect set up for me.

The funniest playable character: My boy Timothy the Jack Doppleganger. Helps that one of his possible skills is Jack coming on to spew “inspiring” thoughts.

Your favorite companion(s):

Dragon Age - FUCKING CULLEN (he’s top tier husband material and I fucking waited patiently for Inquisition just to finally husband this bastard), Alistair

Skyrim- Cicero, Serana, Marcurio

Fallout - NICK!, MacCready, Curie (I may be biased due to name but you know she’s wife material), Dogmeat, Lily

Mass Effect - Liara, Tali

Star Wars - Carth, Atton

Companions you could live without:

Fallout - Cait, Piper, Preston, X6-88, Clover, anyone in New Vegas minus Lily (seriously maybe part of my lack of fondness from the game stems from the fact I can’t stand any of the companions)

Mass Effect - Ashley, Jack, Kaidan

Dragon Age - Fucking Solas (I hate this bastard with a fucking passion like ugh I just I cant), Shale, Oghren, Vivienne

<<RELATIONSHIPS>>

Favorite game relationship(s): Inquisitor/Cullen, Geralt/Yen, Darien Gautier/FemVestige. Yeah I know it’s not like a full on relationship but but he’s beautiful and I love him. And I mean if you count Smolder Scrolls as being cannon it works.

Favorite companion banter: Dragon Age: Origins. Just but Alistair in with Morrigan and it’s a good time. Or Alistair with literally anyone.

A relationship you loved but went bad: AGAIN DARIEN. My love. Why must we be separated. Also need I say Yuri from Doki Doki?

A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Honestly, when I started Mass Effect I wasn’t sure about Liara. Like I started with a thing with Kaidan but grew to dislike him and when I tried a second save I thought ok I’ll try Liara. Never looked back.

A character you wish you COULD romance: OK I’m not a furry buuuut Razum-dar. Let me romance that cat. Smolder Scrolls just made me want to romance him even more. Why do you tease me ESO.

A minor character you wish could be a companion: Ser Gilmore. He deserved better

<<FUN>>

Shoutout to a random NPC: To that random merchant just happening to walk by a dungeon in Skyrim as I finished looting it and decided to carry fucking everything out- I love you. You know how long it woulda taken me to get back to a city to fucking sell that shit? You saved my life sir.

A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: Right now it’s Predator Hunting Grounds

Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: Dead by Daylight. I used to love the game but after some toxic hell I don’t play anymore. Still fun to watch though.

Online gaming or solo?: Solo unless it’s specifically with friends. I’m not fond of MMOs or playing with strangers.

Why do you play video games?: Because it’s fun. I get to be whoever and get to explore without consequence.

Uh I don’t really know who to tag so if you wanna try it go ahead.

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cosmiciaria · 5 years

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Devil May Cry 4 SE spoiler free review/rant!

With all the DMC5 hype, and with all the no-money I have, I went and watched the cutscenes of the new game. Yes, don't judge me, some people just don't have the money to buy it the day it's released. Some people don't even have a ps4 so watching cutscenes is the only alternative if you wanna enjoy the story. This was my case for far too long, when I only owned a ps2 and I was craving for the ps3 I never got. So I'm used to watching cutscenes of the games I knew I wouldn't be able to play at all; and this is no difference, for I have some priorities (cof cof Kingdom Hearts 3 – yes, I'm still saving for it) before throwing my money at Capcom.

SO obviously after watching the cutscenes and getting all the feels and, idk, reminiscing all my love for these characters, I went back to my old file of DMC4 and kept playing. I had been stuck at Mission 11 for a stupid platforming thing that I couldn't wrap my head around it, but somehow, magically, this time I managed (after falling from that wall like 25 times). I'm going to be honest here: I like the DMC franchise for its story, which, ironically, is what most people consider to be the worst aspect of these games. What I try to say is, I suck at playing it. I'm not ashamed of that fact. I play games first for their stories, and then for their gameplay, and my philosophy is that, if I can't enjoy the story because the gameplay is obstructing me, then I'm sorry but that game just isn't for me. That's one of the reasons why I hesitated so much before buying Bloodborne (you can guess: I still haven't finished it). Yes, I suck at DMC4 and 3, and probably the other two as well. I did play the first three, but I never finished them, and I followed their stories thanks to the magic of Youtube. Around that time, when I wanted to have a ps3 and I couldn't, I watched DMC4's cutscenes many times. When it was finally on sale in psn, I didn't think twice: I bought the special edition. So here I was, trying to finish this stupid file on Human difficulty (then again, I'm not ashamed of admitting it) and at last claim the title of "yes, I PLAYED that game!"

Initially, like I said, I've only watched its cutscenes. I was in love with Dante, with Vergil and with Nero. I admired them and their badassness. Slash, punch, wahoo, everything. And I've heard multiple times that DMC3 was a masterpiece and that DMC2 fell flat in almost everything and then that DMC4 is just… an unfinished game. And oh boy, did I feel that as well!

A little introduction for those of you who for some reason don't know anything about Devil May Cry: Dante, the son of the legendary demon Sparda and the human Eva, is a demon hunter. He's cocky, confident and loves taunting his enemies. Vergil is Dante's twin brother: as you can guess, brotherly rivalry (maybe too much rivalry). Nero is the newcomer to DMC4, which triggered many debatable reactions, because fans just love their Dante. Unfortunately for those who don't like Nero, he's the real protagonist of this game. The story revolves around his city, Fortuna; Kyrie, his love interest; and the fact that he's one quarter of a demon, because he descends, too, from Sparda.

So the leader of this occult religious order, Sanctus, worshipper of Sparda, has some god-syndrome and wants to rule the world, opening the hellgates all over the place and kidnapping Kyrie in the process. So it's up to Nero to rescue his (girl)friend, learning some things about himself in the way there. He crosses paths with Dante, who's there because, well, he gotta stop that stupid Sanctus, you know? But Nero confuses his intromissions with an enemy, and their relationship starts off as an opposition. Soon Dante sees something special (even familiar) in this young man, but we'll leave that for another day.

So that's it, that's the premise: you fight your way across the city of Fortuna with Nero and his devilish arm. Halfway through the game(ish) Nero is incapacitated for the time being and it's time to go back to sweet old Dante. Sadly, it's not actually "half" of the game, but just a few missions, and here's where the "unfinished" thing comes into place.

You see, Nero goes forward across the map, and then Dante undoes the same way, going backwards, up until the very first section of the game. And they fight exactly the same demons, the same bosses and go around the same places. Hadn't it been for the fact that Dante plays quite differently than Nero, you wouldn't see a difference between these two routes. And it's frustrating.

Another thing that screams "unfinished" is Mission 19. This is your own very section of boss rushes. The same four bosses that you've encountered with Nero and Dante, you have to fight them yet once more. So it's the same four or five bosses that you fight three THREE THREE times. By this point, you can play against them with your eyes closed.

And this is such a pity! Because the story is good, Nero is a good protagonist to attract younger audience, Dante is at his prime in both personality and abilities, and they even threw some romance into the mix to shake some things up. So why did this have to happen? Well, the devs have admitted they had to release the game in a certain deadline and they had to rush things by end of the cycle, acknowledging that it was incomplete. Due to this, Dante's section of the game feels like a replay of Nero's section, in the lazy kind of way. I can't blame anyone if they complain about this, because it's painfully true.

But still, I can't help but love these characters. I can't help but care for Dante, and his quirky, funny dances; I can't help but cry NOOO whenever Nero wants to save Kyrie. I know Kyrie receives a lot of hate, but it's not her fault the devs decided to make her this useless. I do wish she had a better role than just being the plain damsel in distress. It goes against everything we women have been fighting for these years! Nevertheless, Nero's love for Kyrie is felt, and it’s the main driving force for our main character, so think it this way: without Kyrie, Nero would've been a very plain protagonist, without real motivation.

This time around, the gameplay is faster than before, for the special edition has the "turbo" mode (I recommend it). And not only you can play as Nero/Dante, but also Lady and Trish make their triumphal appearance here, and also – yes, the lord of all special editions, the man everyone was longing to see in action: Vergil. Although, you may've guessed by now, his role in the story is null (except, well… you'll get it) and he only replays all of the missions as if he were Nero/Dante, with no real involvement in the plot, just like it had happened with DMC3 SE. Same happens with Lady and Trish, but hey, at least you can play as Lady! It's the first time she's playable! And she ROCKS!

I know graphics were never so much a thing for the DMC games, but this title still holds a variety of eye-candy visuals that make me rethink how capable the ps3 was. I know that now everything pales in comparison with DMC5 but don't forget, this game dates from 2008, and the remaster is from 2015, and it still holds up to this day! Pretty amazing, to say the least.

From a technical aspect, this game is a let down because of the unfinished business, but it feels like, it plays like DMC game. And for many years it was the consolation to that DMC reboot they tried to pull off (we don't talk about that game – although personally I like it, but I don't consider it canonical, or at least, I don't consider it part of this franchise at all). Nero's character is growing ever since, with now being the undeniable protagonist in DMC5. His role, his powers and his origins will drive the plot from now on, obviously accompanied by our beloved Dante, taking in the mentor mantle. Who knows, maybe Nero will be our next devil hunter in red cape?

This game is old, and probably nobody is speaking about it, but I couldn't not add my words to the void. DMC4 was one of my favorite stories back in the day, when I couldn't play games and only could watch cutscenes in YouTube. It holds all these nostalgic feelings for me. It was a time when I didn't have money, when I needed a game to relieve stress and I couldn't, and I found so much joy in these characters that I can't not love them. In fact, after playing it, I realized most of the aesthetics I find beautiful come from this game: the concept of angels, the Savior, and hot dudes with white hair. I just can't even.

In conclusion, it's not the best of games. It's very mediocre. It's very short. And it feels incomplete. But characters are loveable, and it opens the door to countless possibilities for the future of the franchise.

And the future is here! Go play DMC5 and then lend me a copy! 😉 Jk. But DMC5's story is good, and I've heard the gameplay is even better, so Capcom returned with everything they got this year. And I'm glad they did.

#devil may cry #devil may cry 4 #devil may cry 4 special edition #devil may cry 5 #dmc4 #dmc5 #nero #dante #vergil #kyrie #videogame #videogame review #review #rant #sparda #lady #trish #capcom

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baldysims · 5 years

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Strange Legacy 2.1

It’s off to college now with the generation 2 boys, Alpheratz and Betelgeuse, plus Angeline, the girl they constantly fight over.

Who could forget Alpheratz’s three bolt attraction to the woman his brother wants to marry someday? Not Betelgeuse, that’s for sure.

So in hopes of keeping the household as civil as possible for as long as possible, I’ve been making Alpheratz spend plenty of time out on Academie le Tour’s community lots, as well as Downtown.

He strikes out a fair amount with the local women, but he was able to win over the lovely Demi, aka Angeline’s adult downtownie clone.

That’s... really creepy, Alpheratz. She really is almost a perfect clone of Angeline, from the face to the coloring to even her aspiration. You just know he’s doing this because I won’t let him have the real thing back on the home lot.

“Oh, Alpheratz!”

“Oh, Angeline! I mean... Demi!”

Moving on.

Sometimes he runs into his parents downtown. Zaniah, ever the hypocrite, mostly just lectures him about developing worldly ways. But Sharon will actually invite him downtown with her. And she brings... friends?

Apparently by “a few friends” she meant “your brother’s soon-to-be fiance who you are most definitely coveting as we speak.” Great, Sharon, just great. Also, can we talk about your default outfit that I must have forgotten to change when you became an elder? Because it’s hideous.

Okay, one karaoke song! But then it’s off to the poker tables with you, missy.

Subtle, Alph. Reeeeal subtle.

I have to watch these two constantly at home, because it’s not like Angeline exactly discourages him. She’s always swooning over him even when Bete is nearby, and she finds plenty of excuses to put herself in suggestive poses in front of him.

You’d think she’d realize that this has nothing to do with her and everything to do with Alpheratz’ burning desire to one up his brother, but nope. The truth is Betelgeuse doesn’t even have to be into a girl for Alpheratz to swoop her away as soon as she shows the slightest bit of interest in him.

“Oh hey bro, I bet you had a great time last night maximizing your logic skill, didn’t you?”

“Um... yeah, I guess I did.”

“Probably wasn’t as much fun as I had making out with your cheerleader girlfriend, heh heh.”

Yes, making out is right. Unfortunately for Alpheratz, the Stranges are all strictly forbidden from ever woohooing outside the sacred bonds of matrimony, regardless of heirship or aspiration status. The most he can ever do is make out with and fall in love with Betelgeuse’s romantic interests. I’m sure Betelgeuse is thankful for that.

Unlike certain other people.

“Gosh, Alpheratz, you are so... hot! Have you been working out? Congratulations, I really mean it.”

“Do you ever think about what a nice make out spot the top of this pool table could be? Tee hee!”

Okay, that’s it. Socializing is CANCELLED for the next little while. It’s time to go for our first master point.

You see, if you don’t let your Sims socialize for long periods of time, they’ll start spawning social bunnies, which come in yellow, pink and blue. If you get a pink and a blue one at the same time, they’ll start romancing each other, and if I snap a pic of it I get a master point and the ability to choose romance for my legacy teens.

Unfortunately I keep getting yellow-yellow, yellow-pink, yellow-blue, and so on, and it’s really hard to get Alpheratz’ social bar down far enough because his floozies let themselves into the house when I’m not looking. Ugh!

It took almost two whole Maxian-length semesters to get these two to spawn, and almost a full day of waiting around for them to start interacting with each other. You know what they say, it ain’t over until the pink bunny gooses the blue bunny.

By the time this happened, I was more than happy to get Alpheratz back on the dating train. He’s rolled the want to fall in love with 30 Sims, and you know what that means: an impossible want point for me as long as I get it done before graduation. Good thing Alph is no slacker in the dating department.

Playables, NPCs, townies, dormies -- they all fall to his charms.

Including, again, the delectable Demi, who Alpheratz just can’t resist introducing to Angeline.

“Have we met before? I feel like we have, but I just can’t place you.“

“I was just about to ask you that! It’s so odd, I feel like I know you but I know I don’t. You look so familiar.”

Sources say: still creepy.

Alpheratz has also been conducting an extramarital affair with headstrong businesswoman Regan Capulet, which scandalizes Betelgeuse.

“Have you lost your mind? A Capulet, here on our property? Dad’s going to lose his mind. You know how he feels about matriarchal families.”

“Dad can bite me, Bete. And we both know you don’t have the cojones to tell him.”

Harsh but fair. Betelgeuse hasn’t been getting a lot of screentime this chapter because he never does anything remotely interesting. He skills, he flower arranges, he eats, he sleeps and he thinks about Alpheratz angrily. Zzzzz.

Around the time he earns his gold badge, it’s getting close to graduation so it’s time to move in a placeholder to keep the lot handy for the next generation.

I chose Christy, one of the secret society members, because she was friends with all three of them and I naively thought she wouldn’t start any drama. But of course, she immediately senses that Betelgeuse is the weak link and establishes herself above him in the pecking order of the house.

I feel a little sorry for the poor guy, I mean, he is the legacy heir. What does he have to do around here to earn a little respect?

Alpheratz has 29 lovers now, and you know what that means...

Time to reward him for a job well done in the grossest way possible!

Am I a bad person? Yes. Yes, I am. But I’m a bad person with an impossible want point, and that’s consolation enough for me.

“Ma’am, you’re in violation of code 5731-T3, regarding faithfulness to the legacy heir who is the only reason you’re even in this story. Please step into the vehicle.”

I wish. Sadly, all three of these jokers are perfect students who have never gotten in trouble with the law a day in their lives. Although they do sometimes forget to pay their bills.

Sigh. Well, there’s that impossible want point down the drain. But at least we’ll always have the family drama to remember it by.

Speaking of family drama, Betelgeuse has invited the entire family out to the newly renovated Bernard’s Botanical Dining for a fancy dinner. I wonder what his plans could possibly be?

It seems Angeline has made her choice between the brothers.

Zaniah takes a moment to acknowledge, if not exactly congratulate, Bete on this next step toward the continued glory of the legacy. Meanwhile, Alpheratz stews, and Angeline and Sharon avail themselves of the bar.

The next day, Bete and Angeline are surprised to find out that Alpheratz got speedily engaged to Demi, Angeline’s townie clone.

Yessir, it is still very creepy how he clings to his off-brand Angeline.

Bete knows it too, and takes a moment before his graduation party to rub it in Alpheratz’ face that he lost their game of brotherly competition.

...But did he really?

I’ll leave you on this uncharacteristically cute shot of Zaniah and Sharon celebrating their children’s achievements, both familial and educational, with each other. Let’s hope the feeling lasts when Betelgeuse and Angeline move home.

Legacy Scoring: Legacy: 1.5 Money: 0 Family friends: 38x.25 = 9.25 Impossible wants: 1 (Alph 20L) Platinum graves: 0 Ghosts: 0 Business: 2 Seasons: 2 Free Time: 1.5 (Games: Zaniah, Betelgeuse, Alpheratz) Collections: 0 Master: 1 (Social Bunnies Need Love Too) Handicaps: 0 Overflow: 0 Penalties: -1 (bills) Total: 17.25

#strange legacy #strange legacy generation 1 #strange legacy generation 2 #sims 2 #sims 2 legacy

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steeltypeloverbecca · 6 years

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Golden Sun feelings

Lately I’ve been watching videos discussing Golden Sun/ listening to the soundtrack and I’ve been wanting to replay it for years but unfortunately I loaned it to a friend a long time ago and they seemed to have lost it at some point, so my current choice would probably be an emulator. Except that I want to throw what little money I have at the series as I remember liking the series a lot and want to bring back financial hope that Nintendo/Camelot would try to revive this series. As well while the first two games were praised and sold okay for their time and Dark Dawn sold a little less than. So I don’t think they sold the numbers Nintendo needed making this series heavily neglected with a dedicated fanbase that is still wanting more (I mean especially after that Dark Dawn left soooooo many loose ends).

Unlike other things I may have obsessed over in high school that I said were super underrated and deserve more love Golden Sun actually does deserve that more love. It’s a game that pushed the GBA to it’s limits with its graphics, soundtrack. and game play. Okay sure the story of the Golden Sun games are not the best as I feel even the weakest of some modern JRPGs have stronger stories but it is very much serviceable with the first two being fairly open ended to the point where there are very little points of no return and you can skip some events outright and it wouldn’t hurt your progress through the games story. However the real appeal in the games would be the dungeon puzzles and battle as both require you to use various magic or as the games call it psynergy to solve them but with the battles there is a lot of freedom with customizing your party for battle as each character has a set of weapons that they can equip and there’s the djinn system which can allow you to mess around with your party’s classes as well as thy psynergy everyone can learn depending on which djinni you equip. Oh and like other RPGs the djinni are used for summoning fucking gods ... and a meteor for tons of damage even if it temporarily lowers your stats.

And the setting of the world isn’t just some stock whitey European fantasy world like so many others all right your party is pretty white but don’t worry the third game does somewhat rectify this with half of your team being various flavors of Asian coding (Like two of the characters are south east Asian coded, one is more Mongolian coded, while one is Japanese coded) but the rest of the fantasy world you end up saving has a large variety of settings that resemble fantasy places of east Asia, south east Asia, the middle east, sub Sahara Africa, India, Aboriginal Australia, the Americas and even fucking Antarctica making this one of the most diverse fantasy worlds I’ve run into. And did I mention that soundtrack like holy shit if you ever play this game play it with the sound on because the soundtrack is fucking amazing like some of Matoi Sakuraba’s best pre-Zestiria work. Hell even if you don’t have the game listen to the soundtrack because it is so good! And it’s not just the world but the dungeons come in many fun varieties like there’s this one where you need to go up the outside to get an item before going inside the dungeon itself or the one where you are using a healing spell to activate traps and the like a literal fucking healing spell that just heals you for the rest of the game outside of this one dungeon and then there’s the one where you’re grabbing a big ass bird’s kidney stones.

Okay enough gushing as it does have its flaws like the story, the dialogue heavy first chapter of each game. I honestly can’t tell you much about any of the characters outside of Isaac is different from Matthew because he has silly looking boob plates, Mia had a job before she joined the party, Sheba was worshiped as a god, and Piers is probably immortal with my gay ass admitting that he has nice thighs. Dark Dawn being really flawed even if it does have the nice addition of adding the weapon skill upgrade system and that cool easter egg from the north american commercial for the first game (which by the way has absolutely nothing to do with the game but still looks pretty cool). Hell one of the biggest flaws is the main character of Dark Dawn isn’t really the hero of the game’s story but that title goes to a character that you meet like halfway through the game, and before you meet her the main character is just kind of bumming around going on various fetch quests. With the puzzles and battles honestly being way too easy. Dark dawn is just really the weakest of the games that kind of came as a result of most of the original team leaving right after the second game and the series being on hiatus for almost a decade. I wouldn’t say it’s awful but I feel that it failed to live up to the previous two games and the baggage from those games caused major set backs for newcomers. Plus the development hell that it suffered through it kind of is a miracle that Dark Dawn is even out.

So now Golden Sun is at the point again where no one has heard from it for almost a decade and people are starting to lose faith that Golden Sun 4 will never come out. However with the Switch being early in its lifespan I think there is a glimmer of hope for Golden Sun to return. But I do feel that it needs to return through a reboot of the first two games hell maybe combine the two into one game like it was originally planned, though Isaac and Felix being silent protagonists would have to be scrapped as it would be just jarring for someone who talks in one part of the game suddenly ends up being completely silent in the other game. Heck I think it would be cool to push the switch’s graphical capabilities like the original GBA versions did for their respective systems, like give some tweaks to the story and characters give the game styleized character models and hell why not some voice acting as I think Laura Bailey would totally nail Jenna and/or Sheba, Robbie Daymond would make a good Isaac, and either Matthew Mercer or Yuri Lowenthal could work as Felix. But then goes the issue of the fact that Nintendo reboots tend to not sell as well as the original even if its something the franchise really needs to hook in new gamers for a Golden Sun 4 and that remake needs to about four times as much as the just under 2 million copies that the original games each sold. So I feel that Nintendo and Camelot when dealing with Golden Sun should first give the reboot of the first two games whether they be one or two games, a remake or updated rerelease of Dark Dawn, a few spin off games still dealing with the world of Weyard then give us Golden Sun 4 and after that they can do what they wish with it like make spiritual successors, or make it like a Final Fantasy or Tales series where everything after 4 could be unrelated to the main 4 games. However I have no idea on how to ensure that the first part of this idea, the reboot, would rake in the 10 million plus copies it needs to not kill Golden Sun. Maybe updated graphics and voice acting would work maybe it won’t. Though in anycase I do encourage buying the first two games on the Wii U virtual console and I’m pretty sure you can get Dark Dawn for cheap as DS games are still selling as they still work for the 3DS. And if you like the games enough I encourage trying to bring in support ... or ask for Isaac to be playable for the new Smash.

#Golden Sun #long post #gushing #like tons of gushing #and ideas on what could be possible for the future of this great franchise

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furederiko · 7 years

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Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 was held on June 13-15 in Los Angeles, USA. Meaning, it has once again come and gone, and now comes the time to talk about some of its biggest news (ones that matters to me, at least). That's right, it's a Video-Game Special Random-News-Digest this time around...

NOTE: In general, the topics below are categorized under the company that released them. But in some cases, they go by their separate franchises instead. And one more thing, this was supposed to go up yesterday, precisely one day after E3 2017 ended. BUT... due to unexpected technical issues (internet connection, and... my health), I had no choice but to postpone it. Better late than never, I guess... *sigh*

Marvel vs Capcom

Let's kick this off with a collaboration of Marvel and CAPCOM. Aside from another "Monster Hunter" title that I honestly couldn't care less, "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" was one of CAPCOM's big showcase this year. Remember that leak that arrived earlier this month, the one that spoiled the game's roster? Looks like that report might be true after all. CAPCOM has officially unveiled several more playable characters: the Marvel side has been added by Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, cosmic warrior Nova, assassin Gamora, and the Mad Titan Thanos; while the CAPCOM side was expanded by silver haired Dante of the original "Devil May Cry" (so NOT the latest reboot "DmC"), Zero from "Rockman X" series, cyborg Spence of "Bionic Commando", and goofy knight Arthur from the action comedy franchise "Ghosts 'n Goblins". Considering all eight of these names fit that roster report, I'm pretty sure the credibility of that leak has been confirmed. Everyone was revealed through the new Story trailer, that also announced that a Story Demo has been made available to those who want to experience the game first-hand. You can also check out some of these characters in action, as well as possible in-game pairings (like Gamora-Strider, Strange-Arthur, and so on), through the official gameplay video.

As I've commented on my previous R-N-D, most of the names (with the exception of two) revealed here are 'has been' characters. So while some people were happy about them, many were equally disappointed, which isn't good considering the internet hasn't been kind towards this title. An issue that stemmed from public's disappointments to "Street Fighter V", really. Thankfully, there was one pleasant surprise that came along with this trailer. And it's Black Panther! Those X-Men enthusiasts who cried foul when Wolverine is omitted from the game, can stop whining because the character officially has a replacement now. I'm pretty confident that Panther is going to share a similar 'slash and dice' movesets, if not simply a re-skin version. Panther's inclusion made a lot of sense, considering his first-ever solo movie is arriving in February 2018. The same logic goes to Thanos, as "Avengers: Infinity War" that will put him in the spotlight will arrive a few months after in May. And thanks to Thanos' importance in the story mode, now I understand why Gamora (who shares a famillial link) is necessary to be included in the core cast. Somehow I suspect she's going to be a re-skin of Jill Valentine though, and that might be an issue. Speaking of problem, Panther's not among the core roster. He will be part of the upcoming 6 character DLCs that already includes Ultron and Sigma, though seemingly will be available on launch as part of the 'Deluxe Edition'. And since we already have Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and also Groot (who has been confirmed to be an official assist of Rocket, as they come in one package), I wouldn't be surprised if Star-Lord will follow suit among this DLC wagon as well.

Story is usually not a fighting game's forte. Even the seamless touch of "Mortal Kombat" couldn't hide the fact that it's... ridiculous at best. And well... this one is no different. Jugding from the trailer, this game seems to rely heavily on the Infinity Stones, or as Captain America suggested, "Infinite Six". Again, it also makes sense, due to the movie based on it happening in less than a year. After all, why would the title even bothered to have 'Infinite' as the sub-title, if that's not the whole point, right? The universe-shattering plot somehow reminded me of "Street Fighter V" all over again, which wasn't that great. So I'm not too sure CAPCOM will be able to pull this 'cinematic experience' off into something significantly better. The CAPCOM characters already felt... what's the word... out of place? And yikes, what happened to Chun-Li?! Subjectively speaking, she's not as 'ugly' as NetherRealm Studios' design for female characters, but I've certainly seen the Chinese Interpol agent in a much better shape before! On the other hand, never thought I'm gonna say this, but Thanos totally kicked-ass with his Infinity Gauntlet. Getting me more and more excited for the "Infinity War" movie, which might be the other primary goal of this game from the very beginning.

I don't know what you think, but overall this game doesn't look half bad. The design might need some getting used to, but I think it feels closer and closer to the previous 3 titles the more I see it. Unfortunately, as I've said before, the general sentiment of this game is definitely leaning on the side of negative. Fans who have 'tasted' the Story Demo have expressed a similar pessimistic tone as well. With a release date crawling closer and closer, how would CAPCOM react to this? I guess we'll just have to wait and see when the game is officially launched. "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 19.

Sonic the Hedgehog

SEGA released a new trailer for "Sonic Forces", and this time around, they introduced the set of villains that Modern, Classic and Custom Sonic will be teaming up to face. I was already sold by the inclusion of a Custom character, but seeing all those arch-nemesises in one place just turned me into... a pure happy camper. And that's not all, because a new powerful and mysterious enemy will be joining, if not commanding them. Infinite, no relations to the above category, will be teaming up with Doctor Ivo Robotnik/Eggman (from... duh, almost every game?), Metal Sonic (who debuted on "Sonic CD"), Chaos (of "Sonic Adventure"), Shadow the Hedgehog (of "Sonic Adventure 2"), and Zavok (from the recent "Sonic Lost World") to take over the world. Seriously, that new villain looks scary, and he's totally stealing my attention. Dang it, I totally wish I can play this game. There's no release date so far, but "Sonic Forces" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC this holiday.

Dragon Ball

I actually couldn't care less about any "Dragon Ball"-based games beyond the ones released during the 90s, but this one... "Dragon Ball FighterZ"? This totally got my attention! Indeed, it was that good, that it was stealing many E3 attendee's attention with its high speed action, flashy moves, and colorful anime graphics. For some reason, the "Marvel vs Capcom" style felt strong in this, to the point that many people have come to loving this more than that franchise's upcoming release. Ironic, huh? I guess nostalgia does play a crucial factor...

This title is under Bandai Namco, but developed by Arc System Works, and somehow was leaked a few days ahead of its planned official reveal. The latter is the company that is known for franchises like "BlazBlue", "Guilty Gear", and also the "Naruto" series. But unlike the Naruto ones that went full-on 3D style, this one utilized a 2.5D style, which once again, is the right call! Why? The development is in 3D, which as producer Tomoko Hiroki has confirmed, makes some technical elements much easier to pull off, but the visual is of 2D animation. And I say, not just that. "Dragon Ball" IS and has always been an anime, thus the anime style is definitely the way to go when it comes to adapting Son Goku and other character of the long-running franchise. It also easily reminded me of those classic "Dragon Ball" fighting game I used to play on my SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive with my family. Aaah, the good 'ol times when the world was still kind, and people hasn't been corrupted by the irony called... growing up.

The game's official reveal trailer only included 6 characters so far: Son Goku, Vegeta, (child) Son Gohan, Cell, Frieza, and Majin Buu. But since the game will be based on the whole "Dragon Ball Z" arc, it's obvious we'll be seeing many more characters like the twins Android 17 and Android 18, Krillin, (future and child) Trunks, and even Son Goten. Especially with Bandai Namco stressing out that "famous scenes from the Dragon Ball anime reproduced in 60 frames per second and 1080p resolution.". A closed beta demo will be held on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One before the end of summer, so fans who are intrigued to give this game a shot, just need to wait a bit longer. For the time being, we can indulge ourselves with several gameplay videos taken as direct-feed from the E3 hall. You can visit Gematsu (HERE, and HERE) to view them. "Dragon Ball FighterZ" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC worldwide in early 2018.

Nintendo

Contrary to previous report, Nintendo did take the stage this year, as they announced numerous exciting titles that made MAAANY people happy. Not a surprise as well, because Nintendo Switch was just released 4 months ago, and there haven't been many softwares to complement the hybrid console.

Let's start with what's probably the biggest signature title for Switch. A game that IGN has even crowned to be the "Game of Show", "Best Platformer", and "Best Nintendo Switch Game" of E3 2017. It's none other than... "Super Mario Oddysey"! In this game, players will take Mario on a globe-trotting 3D adventure to collect Moons, a fuel for the airship 'Oddysey' that is necessary to rescue Prince Peach from Bowser. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. How many effing times do Mario needs to walk through the same scenario, right? But never mind that, because this game looked super fun.

I haven't purchased Switch yet, but even I'm already itching to play this game. For so many reasons. That great and catchy theme song that made me dancing like a child. That white broadway top-hat, or Mexican sombrero? And Mario 'possessing' practically any living beings around him with a cap throw? Dang it, if only I can play it right NOW. This looked a lot like "Super Mario Galaxy" on Wii, but with its own... spin. Get it? Here, just take a look at its reveal trailer, or the gameplay videos (available on Gematsu), and tell me if you're not easily charmed by this game. Because if you're not, then I seriously pity your sad childhood (just kidding, no need for death threat!). "Super Mario Odyssey" will launch on October 27th, 2017... only on Nintendo Switch.

The second Switch game for Mario is "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle", that combines the world of Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom, with Ubisoft's "Rabbids" franchise. Yep, this worst-kept secret collaboration title has been developed by Ubisoft, hence why I don't give the company their own exclusive category (because its content will be separated in two). In this game, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and also Yoshi will join forces with their four... Rabbids dopplegangers, to journey four different worlds, in the hope of restoring order to The Mushroom Kingdom. I'm personally NOT a fan of the Rabbids, but even this crossover game looked FUN. And beyond that, according to IGN it has a deep strategic battle system too. But more importantly, this game also proved that Nintendo is becoming more open to allow other developers to use their properties. A fact that inspires great potentials and possibilities in the future. You can watch the official announcement trailer on Youtube, as well as a Development Diary for the game. Gematsu also had 21 minutes of gameplay from the E3 floor, so go ahead and visit the site. "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" will be released for Nintendo Switch on August 29th, 2017.

More Mario? Yes... more Mario! Announced during Nintendo's E3 2017 Treehouse live stream, "Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions" is a renewed classic that will arrive on October 6th, 2017 exclusively for Nintendo 3DS. In this game, rather than trying to battle Bowser, the Mario Bros are teaming up WITH Bowser to restore Princess Peach's voice. Visit Youtube for the official trailer, and also Gematsu for 25 minutes of gameplay videos. Wow, Mario is killing it, huh? Nope, not just him, his green dinosaur friend Yoshi is also getting his own Switch game! Conveniently titled as "Yoshi", the 2D side-scrolling adventure will see Yoshi exploring a world of miniature diorama filled with flip-ping surprises. Go ahead and watch the trailer and have your mind... flipped. LOL. "Yoshi" will be released in 2018.

What about other franchises, you wonder? Well, ask and you shall receive! In list form... LOL - The honestly weird-looking "Arms", is getting rave reviews. It's ridiculous fun, even with its lack in the story department as well as... logic. It might look simple, but it has a startling amount of depth that will wow anyone. Many are saying that this will be a hit for families entertainment, and the game is already hitting the market with a DLC already announced. - Fans of the "Metroid" series will also get their share of excitement. "Metroid Prime 4" has been announced for Switch. There's no release date for now, but I'm sure information about that will come in the near future. The same can't be said about "Metroid: Samus Returns" though. A 3D polygon remake of Game Boy classic "Metroid II: The Return of Samus", the title will be officially released for 3DS on September 15th, 2017. - The pink ball Kirby also gets Switch-ed, in the equally conveniently named "Kirby". Kirby will be adventuring in a party of four, which means up to 4 players can play this game together. Don't forget to check out its Hollywood style trailer! "Kirby" doesn't have a release date yet, but is set to be released in 2018. - And "Skyrim" fans? You got it! Complete with amiibo support and Legend of Zelda skins...

As you can see, the library of Switch is expanding like crazy, and it's an exciting turn around especially compared to what happened to Wii U. Those who have purchased this hybrid console since day one, no longer has to worry about not having a game to play. And for those who haven't had a chance to do so... well, the more the reason to get a Nintendo Switch, right? *grins*

Pocket Monsters

Are you among those who are waiting for a core Pokemon title on Switch? And you were disappointed when "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" was announced for 3DS instead of the rumored "Pokemon Stars"? Well, turns out you only need to wait... a little bit longer. The Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara officially announced that Game Freak has begun developing a core RPG title for Nintendo Switch! So it is indeed happening, folks! He added though, that the title "may not release for more than a year, but we hope you will look forward to it all the same", hence why I told you to wait. Then again, more than a year from now can also mean... it MIGHT arrive on November 2018, right? Wow, I'm getting excited for no reason... LOL.

In a way, this announcement has also partially confirmed that the Switch is indeed the officiall replacement of 3DS. Moreso, and this is just a wild guess, but likely the rumor about "Pokemon Stars" was actually referring to this particular development, instead of the recently announced extension of "Pokemon Sun & Moon". Either way, this is a great news, because we're finally getting what many Pokemon fans have been dreaming: a chance to play a Pokemon RPG on the TV screen! How is that possible, you dare ask? DUH, Switch is a hybrid console that enables that! Of course, this also works wonder to Switch itself, because quoting my own words from last week: "The hybrid console is definitely in need of a fan favorite franchise like Pokemon to attract more players". Yes, the E3 announcement for those Mario titles and many others have shut down the public concern of 'Switch is lacking of exclusive game titles'. But having a Pokemon RPG on Switch, will undeniably attract Pokemon fans who are still on the fence to purchase the console and help boost its sales. Want prove? That's easy, because mark my word, I'm TOTALLY getting a Switch (sooner or later) just for this! *geeks out*

By the way, technically speaking, this section should've been part of the Nintendo category. But since it has already established its own category (in various form of medias) for such a long time, I've decided to put it separately.

Assassin's Creed

At long last, Ubisoft officially unveiled "Assassin's Creed: Origins" during Microsoft's E3 2017 stage. It was certainly not a surprise announcement, considering the title was already leaked since May. More than that, a Game Informer coverage was already leaked ahead of E3, officially spilling the beans in a non-official manner. Ouch! Someone at Game Informer is going to get fired...

Confirming the rumor, the new game will take place in Egypt, and as the title suggest, will be telling about the founding of the Assassin's Brotherhood. The main character (but not the only playable one) will be Bayek, a protector of the land whose story will be root of the Creed. Since the game takes place in the ancient Egypt during Cleopatra's reign, we can expect to see Great Pyramids, mythologies, pharaohs, and many other awesome bits from the country's history. Eventhough this game has been in production before the infamous "Assassin's Creed Unity", it will have a new free-form combat system with new A.I., revamped narrative experience and freedom to choose quests, an entire country to full explore, while still retaining and improving the series existing signatures like puzzles, Eagle Vision (through an Eagle named the Senu this time), stealth, that annoying climbing, Naval adventures, and many others. You can check out the official reveal trailer on Youtube, a Gameplay Demo, coverage by Game Informer, as well as a "Mysteries of Ancient Egypt" that gave additional details about the game.

There are several version of the game that fans can purchase. First is the "Deluxe Edition" that contains the game, printed version of the hand-drawn world map, soundtrack, and Digital Deluxe Pack. Second is the "Gold Edition", that adds a Season Pass for upcoming expansions and equipments. There are also the "Collector's Edition", "Dawn of the Creed Collector's Edition", and the special "Dawn of the Creed Legendary Collector's Edition". That last one will add a highly detailed resin statue of Bayek and Senu, The Collector's Certificate of Authenticity, replica of Bayek's eagle skull amulet, two Steelbooks, and four large lithographs signed by the studio artists. This limited edition (only 999 units for worldwide sale) is already available for pre-order exclusively on Ubisoft store for $799,9. As the pricing suggest, this is totally for that devoted fan with plenty of money to spare! *sigh*. Visit Gematsu for further details of these items. "Assassin's Creed: Origins" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 27th, 2017.

Square Enix

The company brought their top franchise to the convention this year. Several new iterations of "Final Fantasy XV" were announced during the event, while new development on the highly anticipated "Kingdom Hearts III" was also revealed elsewhere.

Second DLC episode for "Final Fantasy XV", one that will focus on Prompto Argentum's solo adventure will be launched on June 27th, 2017, alongside the "Regalia Type-D" update (brings greater freedom to drive Regalia off-road). Just like the first that featured Gladioulus as the central character (released back in March), "Episode Prompto" will likely take place in between the infamous Chapter 13 of the main game as well. If Gladioulus was a hack and slash action genre, then apparently Prompto will take on a first-person shooter experience. Makes sense, really, considering his signature weapon of choice. You can check out a six minutes gameplay video of this DLC on Youtube.

Expanding the "FF XV Universe", two more extension games have been announced. The first one was "Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV", that will be available for PlayStation VR. It's a... fishing game, that let players explore oceans, lakes, ponds, and rivers alongside Noctis and his friends. Clearly based on one of the main game's mini-mission, the game will be launched in September. For now, you can view the official trailer to know that I'm not at all kidding. The second was "King's Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon", which apparently is an action RPG. This one's an App game, and will be released on iOS and Android later this year. I can't see the relation of this title with the main game, but I'm sure Final Fantasy fans will dig it like crazy anyway, right? Last but not least, the main game will soon have a major update to support Microsoft's new console. One which I will talk about at the end of this post. "Final Fantasy XV" is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

As for "Kingdom Hearts III", Square Enix debuted a new trailer during the "Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour". Compared to the "Final Fantasy" one, I personally liked this one better. But while the game looked great, the story seemed to have gotten... even more confusing by and by. Apparently, Hades, Maleficent, and Pete are looking for a Black Box or something, while lead character Sora alongside buddies Donald Duck and Goofy want to bring Roxas to reality, with a certain 'dire cost'. I recall only getting to the second game, thus never experienced the Nintendo DS ones to even have a clue of what's going on. Still, the charm of this series is the various Disney/Squaresoft worlds, and at the end of this trailer, Square Enix officially announced that new information will be delivered at the Disney D23 Expo 2017 on July 15th, 2017. That means there will be new worlds to explore, and I bet it will involve recent released titles like "Frozen", "Moana", and/or "Big Hero 6". "Kingdom Hearts III" is still under development, and hasn't gotten a release date, but is likely to arrive in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Taiko no Tatsujin

The latest iteration of the "Taiko Drum Master" series, the "Taiko no Tatsujin: Session de Dodon ga Don!" has been announced on Famitsu Magazine. The game will have a special jam session against other player's musical performance data, that can even be achieved when they are not actually available online. This game will include over 70 songs that cover from famous Japanese classic anime songs, classic orchestral musics, recent tunes from the J-Pop circle, up to modern hypes like the "Pen-Pineapple Apple-Pen". A teaser website has been opened by Bandai Namco, that revealed a special feature to play the game alongside popular characters from Japanese shows. Development has reached 80% and the game is set to be released for PlayStation 4 later this year.

Spider-Man

As proven by their smartphones games like "Future Fight" and "Contest of Champions", or the collaboration with CAPCOM that I've talked about above, Marvel is ramping up on their video game divison. And the one I'm going to talk about here, is their collaboration with Insomniac Games, in form of the non-nonsense titled "Marvel's Spider-Man". It is best known as "Spider-Man PS4" though, because as the nickname suggests, it will be exclusively released on PlayStation 4. And well, since SONY is the copyright owner of the Spider-Man franchise, it's not really much of a surprise huh?

A special 9 minutes gameplay video has been released to give players a sense of what to expect from this game. My reaction? If you're eager to see how Spider-Man gets trapped in a Rocksteady's Arkham game, then this is easily your answer. The whole stalking, cinematic quick-time sequences, as well as exciting one-vs-many combat totally reminded me of those Rocksteady titles. But instead of Batman and his vast array of gadgets, we have Spider-Man and his iconic humor, jokes, acrobatic movesets, and... gadgets in his place. Creative director Bryan Intihar also described the footage in details, through PS4's official blog. It seems Spidey will 'cooperate' with Wilson Fisk, to deal with the Inner Demons gang, who works under Martin Li or Mr. Negative. He will be exploring an open-world of New York to deal with super villains as well as personal matters.

Honestly, I'm not too keen on the human character design, as well as the first suit that has too much white. But this certainly caught my attention. Heck, I think every Marvel fans would be amazed by this. In fact, this game has been confirmed to include additional Spidey suits, as well as multiple Spider-Man characters, meaning there's more to it than what we've seen so far. With strong emphasis on story, it's not a joke that IGN has awarded it as "Best PS4 Game" as well as "Best Action Game" of E3 2017. Here's hoping the actual game will be as good as, if not better than this achievement suggested. "Spider-Man" will be released in 2018.

LEGO Games

New characters have been announced for "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2"! Giant teleportation mutt Lockjaw, and Inhumans Queen Medusa have officially entered the game alongside Agent Venom. As to be expected, the whole roster of Guardians of the Galaxy have also been confirmed to be playable in this second game, because the story will pick up directly where the previous title left off. Not to mention tying in to this year's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" movie. There weren't many details offered for this game, because likely TT Games and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment is saving more reveals to be delivered on Disney D23. For now, you can watch various gameplays through the official LEGO presentation stream on Youtube. "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2" will launch for all consoles on November 14th, 2017.

Professor Layton

Following last month's reveal of the first episode of "Layton's Mistery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy", LEVEL-5 celebrated E3 2017 with with details for the second one. Episode 02, entitled "Song of a Certain Love: Riverside Festival" will focus on the town's tradition of confessing love from opposite sides of River Thames. One that is called "Riverside Confession Show". The legend told that the couple who engaged in that would die unnatural death. But this time, contrary to the annual festive that usually went victim-less, two young people actually get killed! An event that shakes the town, for better or worse. I found the premise of this episode to be exciting, because it means Katrielle isn't just a run-of-the-mill detective in this game. She's going to be investigating deaths, and possible murders!

Another two of the "Seven Millionaires of London" have also been revealed. Joining Ridley Fremens and Clerk Gospec are Andrea Quinto and Zach Lyell. Quinto is a young multi-millionaire who inherited a vast sum of money following the death of her parents. While Lyell is a sharp business who is extensively expanding businesses. He's the president of a group enterprise that owns Long Roller Bank. Up to this point, it's still unclear how or in what capacity these Millionaires are involved in the game. Are they part of a secret organization, that is somehow responsible for Professor Layton's disappearance? Or is there other mystery behind that? And how will they affect Katrielle's life?

Several new features have also been announced. Katrielle will be able to change clothes in the game, and they are specially designed by famous stylist Shouhei Kashima. New outfits can be obtained by using "Special Coins" in the 3DS version, or actual money in the smartphones version. Those who purchase the 3DS download version in Japan will receive a Flora Reinhold-style outfit. Player can also decorate the interior of Katrielle's "Layton Detective Agency" through the new "Room Coordinate" feature. New furnitures might be obtained by trading "Interior Tickets". As for the puzzles, this game is said to have the highest number of them, of all Layton titles. Lastly, the game's theme song "Girls" is sung by Kana Nishino, and will be officially released on July 26. "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy" will be released worldwide on July 20th, 2017.

Atari

No, you're NOT reading it wrong. Atari, the classic 90s gaming console that even I have never even seen in real life, is getting back into the hardware business. Apparently, CEO Fred Chesnais had publicly stated this news on the E3 2017 floor. He didn't really go into specifics about this, aside from saying that it is based on PC technology. But could he be talking about that "Ataribox" that has been teased on Youtube? The video DOES call it 'a brand new Atari product'. It even has its own website. The current speculation on the internet, that Atari is attempting to replicate Nintendo's accomplishment with their NES Classic. You know, the one that only saw limited release and has been discontinued? Especially because the video hinted at the "Atari 2600" which was the first console ever released by the company. I guess we'll just have to wait for more information about this. But be honest, would you purchase a NES Classic-esque console just to play classic and likely long-forgotten Atari games? Personally, I'm NOT too sure...

Microsoft

Speaking of console... Okay, let's end this R-N-D with a topic that many are calling to be... the 'MOST POWERFUL' reveal of the Expo. Microsoft has officially unveiled the name of its high-tech console Project Scorpio, and it officially goes by name "Xbox One X". That's... so many Xs, huh? LOL. By 'most powerful', I'm obviously talking about the console's technical specifications of course. And not about that over-confident official tagline that's being boasted throughout the event on T-Shirts, as well as flaunted pretty much everywhere. Hold on... HUH?

Really, its technical specs is certainly no joke. True 4K resolution with 12GB GDDR5 graphic memory, that enable games to run smoothly in 8 million plus pixels resolution (that's the highest possible, for current technology at least); 8-core Custom AMD CPU with 6 Teraflops GPU and 326GB/s Memory Bandwidth, for realistic and smoother animations; liquid cooling and supercharger-style centrifugal fan, to ensure it stays cool with less noise, a system that, according to Xbox Software Engineering Kareem Choudhry, is usually implemented for servers; 8GB flash and 1TB internal HDD storage, with faster hard drive speed; 4K UltraHD Bluray Disc Drive; DTS and DOLBY TrueHD Atmos sounds; various connectivities via wires and wireless; and not to mention being the smallest consoler the company has ever released. To be honest, eventhough I might have an IT background, I have NEVER been into hardware. Thus all these gibberish tech-talks almost put me down to sleep. But I don't think it takes a genius to easily tell that this thing is massive. Undeniably a 'First Class' product that offers immersive gaming experience. According to IGN, the CPU is 30% faster than the current Xbox One, with a GPU that's 4.6 times higher. To ensure backward compatibility with it, all of its accessories and games will work on this Xbox One X, and existing games (like "Dragon Ball FighterZ", "Final Fantasy XV", and "Assassin's Creed: Origins" that I've mentioned above) will soon receive major updates to ensure faster loading time, even for a player who isn't utilizing a 4K TV.

Said technical specification is certainly an eye-popping fact. This is basically a super high-end PC set, in form of a standalone console. Unfortunately, that comparison also immediately raised several glaring questions among the public, particularly game enthusiasts. One that ranged from the most simple, like "Who is this intended for?" to the most philosophical like "Why even bother choose this over PC?". Indeed, which gamer market is Microsoft really trying to aim with this product? Because obviously, to make full use of the UltraHD 4K resolution, a gamer needs to eventually own and plug it into a 4K TV as well. Which is... STILL a really pricey technology that NOT everyone can afford. The fact that the console itself will arrive at an equally 'premium price', feels like a hard wake-up slap to every average guy's face.

Will this win over those gamers who have abandoned home consoles and have since moved on towards PC? In an interview with Gamespot, a developer (who's working on exclusive Xbox title... a random FYI to see the bigger picture) sang praises for Xbox One X by calling it as the most developer-friendly due to its super over-powered hardware. He said, "it's like a high-end PC crammed into this tiny little box". Of course, the logic that follows is, why not just... use a PC instead? A PC World writer has even made a possible comparison to the budget necessary to build one with similar specs. With its own valid pros and cons. The point is, PC gamers will likely opt to spend less money to upgrade their existing PC sets. So is this meant for Xbox fanatics who are looking to upgrade from a very recent Xbox One then? Or VR enthusiasts, eventhough it might be a veeeery niche market? Why not go with the cheaper Xbox One S instead? Hmmm...

Sure, technically speaking, Microsoft has created a console that's... uncomparable, and has no competitor in terms of power and performance (that's the words of Head of Xbox Phil Spencer himself). Will that guarantee a win in the console competition? Remember, the hip and popular neighbour PlayStation 4 (and its 4K extension PS4 Pro) proudly carries the advantages of having far richer library of titles and DLC exclusives, one that only continues to add as we speak. While the sweet and seemingly innocent new kid-on-the-block Nintendo Switch, is offering the ease of mobility, family-friendliness, and multiplayer experience both offline and online. Both are already promising long hours of entertainment with a relative 'family-budget' that seems more inline with the current economical climate throughout the world. So can Microsoft really be certain that their luxury product will appeal a much bigger mass than those? Particularly when sales for the current Xbox One isn't even doing... good? Learning from past experience, the answer to that is rather... skeptical.

No offense to the company, but somehow the term 'most powerful' itself feels... exaggerating much? I mean, A for effort, but it's nothing but a temporary bubble with a very limited lifetime. We are talking about technology here, a means that is ever-changing and ever-evolving. This month, perhaps Xbox One X is indeed the strongest there is, but another console will surely swoop in with better specs and surpassed it. Perhaps next year, if not sooner or later. Trust me, this is coming from a proud Xbox360 owner, who still has the fully operational console and plays its numerous game titles every now and then, and who has consciously skipped out Xbox One due to the lack of interesting titles (aside from monetary situation LOL). What I'm trying to say is, I don't really see the point of moving on towards Xbox One X, at least in the near future. Which is ironic, because what seems to be winning over many gamers' heart, was none other than Xbox One's backward compatibilites. Yes, the exact thing that SONY has been failing to deliver for years, has become the big positive difference that Microsoft is generously offering. Said function will not be available until later this year, but it will support up to classic/original Xbox games! That's an era of 15 years ago, so we're talking about valid nostalgia boost here.

In the end, the common sense is the Xbox One X is NOT for everyone. But it's still all up to you to decide whether you want, NEED, or even afford to have one decorating your already-possibly-expensive home. Lest we forget, freedom of choice, is everyone's basic human rights, regardless of their financial ability *sigh*. This 'most powerful console' is set to be released on November 7th, 2017 at the mindblowing price of $499. I guess that's when its accessibility strength to the general public can truly be tested. So as always, we'll see...

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